What to do when you are Bored

Seeing as how NoHunters was obtrusively hacked to pieces when I logged on, I ventured over to -x17's channel to see if anything was going on.  I had a mixed up day so far.  I won a few, lost a few; A typical B.net day for me.  Somehow I stumbled into a whisper conversation with Sp|nE while he was watching a game with [o]Bored and SluggyTheZealot.  Soon the game was done, and Sp|nE and Sluggy left the channel afterwards.  I congratulated Bored on his Tao game (different game than with Sluggy, duh) and in return I was asked if I would like to watch him and -BeLoVeD- play a 1v1.  Knowing how my last [o] observance turned out, I was ready to see how a real game would go.  I would not be disappointed.

Bored, BeLoVeD and myself were soon in the PGL Lost Temple pre-game screen and had a few moments of download time to chat a little bit.  Quick banters about skill and this possibly being a battle report caused a few choice comments from the two, and then the game began. 

Both players left fate to choose races and both wound up with Terran directly opposing each other.  Jovial comments flowed effortlessly from both competitors during the initial lull of mining and as the builds began to start, the conversation began to still.  I liked this, looks like it is going to be serious and good!

Wall ins started practically simultaneously, yet with two distinct tactics.  Bored opted for a by-the-book ramp wall in, while BeLoVeD chose to begin a base wall in leaving his ramp somewhat open.  Hmm, two Terrans with decidedly different strats.  It gets different still.

Bored begins a Refinery and sends his SCV that finished the wall in off to scout clockwise.  The SCV makes it over to BeLoVeD's main and sees a second Barracks finish.  A marine begins to fire upon the infiltrating SCV and I got a good laugh out of seeing Bored's SCV make a complete circle through the enemy base (coming down BEHIND the mineral line) and barely escaping with only about 2 hit points left.  The SCV scouts the rest of the map and settles for a well deserved rest at the 12:00 natural.

Not to be outdone, BeLoVeD sends his scout out and soon finds his target at 9:00.  The SCV takes some hits from the high ground marines as he strayed to close to the ledge and finds solitude just southwest of the ramp entrance.  Not being fired upon here, the SCV begins constructing a bunker and BeLoVed sends roughly 8 marines and 2 more SCV's on their way to the bunker.  Bored is able to catch a glimpse of the constructing SCV and quickly eradicates the offensive bunker.  The small pack of marines and SCV's from BeLoVeD were in transit and scoot around the ledge covered ground.  Seeing the remains of what was to be their bunker, they get pissed and attack the wall in directly.  

Bored had already committed to his factory and an Engineering Bay (the E-Bay is being built at the 12:00 natural by the initial scout SCV, to be used as eyes for a tank push) and therefore did not have a high troop count to defend with.  Bored voices his opinion of the offensive bunker-turned-wall in-rush, and BeLoVeD breaks through by destroying the depots (evil) and damaging the Barracks before pressing on.

Bored wisely decided not to try and train any more marines out of his rax under attack and I see the factory and machine shop roar to life.  I also notice that Bored's low troop count can be attributed to a Command Center that was built above his Refinery.  --From the location of the build, it is obvious this CC was intended to float to either the 9:00 natural, or the upper island.  It is important here that the CC was finished as BeLoVeD began assaulting the ramp wall in.  Bored immediately lifted the CC and began floating it southeast.  The CC somehow avoided detection by the incoming forces and left the vicinity unmolested.--  Bored rallies what SCV's he has to stall for time until he gets his first tank.  The tank comes just in time and with more micro and lost SCV's, he is able to survive the attack with his tank dangerously low in the red and many dead SCV's.  Bored has been seriously injured but is still able to produce and was able to sneak out his expansion CC unnoticed.  SCV's began repair on the tank and on the damaged Barracks.

BeLoVeD has 2 Factories with both machine shops researching furiously.  Marines have been pouring out of his rax and he begins to set troops up at his natural's choke.  The marines there quickly turn around and go to deal with the fearsome threat of Bored's floating E-Bay!  Bored decided to sacrifice (well, it turned into a sacrifice) his E-Bay he built at the 12:00 natural on a scouting run over BeloVeD's main.  It takes a little while for the marines to take down the E-Bay in the congested area and Bored is awarded a full view of his enemy's base before the unorthodox scout is vanquished.

Vultures join the party at BeLoVeD's choke and decide to drink a bunch of turbo fuel before commencing to mine both open mains (12 and 6) and the subsequent naturals of them.  BeLoVeD has excellent map reconnaissance and mines the hell out of Bored's mineral only natural (he dared not get too close to the choke as there are now tanks in siege covering it above the ramp).  Of course, all this map info is moot since he failed to see Bored's bottom island expansion beginning to teem with SCV's.

Both of them seem to be on the same wavelength of thought as each one is constructing Starports.  Bored shows he has recovered quickly as another replacement E-Bay is constructed and both also have Academies.  A rather large mixed group of ground troops has amassed at BeLoVeD's choke.  Bored has recovered wonderfully and though still a little behind in ground troop numbers, a Dropship has emerged, picks up 2 tanks and heads out to see what it can stir up..

The tanks land on the cliff over BeLoVeD's natural just as a CC is landing in place there.  Bored bides his time and sieges up after his dropship is returning with 3 SCV's.  The CC is lifted and 2 fresh wraiths make it out of BeLoVeD's Starports and try to quell the threat.  The wraiths arrive to see 2 SCV's almost finished with turrets!  One SCV dies but the timing allows for one turret to be erected and this is enough to send the wraiths in retreat.  The cliff tanks remain.

BeLoVeD decides to haul is CC over to the 12:00 natural instead.  While the CC is in transit BeLoVeD continues mixed troops on the ground buffered by wraiths.  Bored has been concentrating on wraiths primarily, but has fortified his defenses with tanks and turrets.  A dropship is hovering around and spots the CC landing in the 12:00 natural.  Bored's first control group of wraiths is dispatched to destroy the CC.  Wraith fire is heavy and they are cloaked, but BeLoVeD has sent a group of marines as escort to the maynarding SCV's and with a few ComStat sweeps, the CC is saved and the wraiths are chased off.

BeLoVeD is not happy with the attack on his first expansion and has another CC floating to take the 12:00 main.  Also, sporting quite the large ground force, he begins to rally the troops right outside of Bored's choke.  Bored has just landed his own CC at his natural and has secured it with 2 more tanks placed in between the CC and gas geyser.  Bored has his dropship now hovering over his natural cliffs and catches the edge of enemy troops in his vicinity.  A scan of the area shows the full view of the threat.

Bored has many more wraiths than BeLoVeD.  Cloaks envelope the flight squadrons of each and Bored attacks hard, going for enemy air first.  Both ComStats alight the area, but Bored's  greater forces of wraiths eliminate the air threat and marines and begin to pick apart the tanks and vultures.  BeLoVeD is forced to scatter what remains of his ground forces and scramble them back towards his main.  Bored's successful wraiths return to posts near his base and do not see that BeLoVeD has landed another CC at the top left island.

Quick update:  

BeLoVeD has lost most of his forces from the thwarted attack, but has gained an expansion advantage.

Still, Bored continues to bolster his air wing and with the foiled ground assault, BeLoVeD is following suit.  Both have 4 Starports now.  Construction of Armories in both camps (2 each) show plans for upgrading air.  Bored is ahead in aircraft production as he had most of his survive the earlier fight.  2 full control groups of wraiths descend upon BeLoVeD's 12:00 expansion, kill the defending opposition and targets supply depots.  Bored takes full advantage of eliminating this expansion by expanding to the 6:00 main and his mineral only natural.

Both competitors seem happy to research and build for now.  I see a Science Facility in Bored's base and I also notice every single wraith on the map is now 1-1-1 on upgrades.  Bored is unable to sit still, though, and adds 3 more Barracks at his mineral only.  A scan to the upper island reveals BeLoVeD's expansion there.  Soon a dropship is headed there with a large wraith escort and drops its cargo on the island edge.  It's an SCV!  Bored has dropped an SCV on the island ledge and begins building his own turrets on the edge.  What a convenient way to reserve ComStat's for elsewhere.

BeLoVeD has been concentrating on unit produciton and does not readily respond to the enemy construction on his island.  Bored has returned the dropship, this time with two tanks. Wraiths draw fire and  he is able to siege the tanks on the ledge.  With tank support, the left island expansion of BeLoVeD is quickly laid to waste.

Bored has successfully ruined two of BeLoVeD's expansions and tilts the resource battle decisively in his favor.  Bored has 4 expansions to BeLoVeD's 1.  Both have been amassing troops of similar numbers.  Bored has rallied outside of his choke and BeLoVeD has rallied near his 12:00 expansion.  As you can see, Bored has quite the formidable defense force outside his base.  Though, I don't have a shot of BeloVeD's, his are very, very similar to Bored's.  It looks to be a major clash as BeLoVeD begins to move his troops to the center where the Temple stands.

This is to be the final battleground.  The immediate land around the Temple.  BeLoVeD has a force consisting of almost every troop of the terran arsenal assembled here.  He is pissed at having lost two of his expansions and intends to get some revenge.  Bored is ready to counter with M&M and mostly, his wraiths.  Again, Bored takes the initiative away and attacks first as BeLoVeD is still in transit.  The entire field of vision erupts in total mayhem.  Not a single unit is going unmolested.  Blood is spilled all over the place.  The dust finally settles and Bored remains paying homage at the Temple.

Bored's force continues forward to BeLoVeD's only running expansion.  With the impending doom of this expansion at 12:00 natural and no others running, BeLoVeD conceded the game.  A climactic battle for a climactic game.  Bored's resiliency has won him the day.

GG's are exchanged and final scores look like this:

•  I have seen people concede games when their wall in is broken that early in the game.  Bored stayed alive with the one tank.  Never concede that early in the game.
• Scout/scan the islands earlier and repetitively.  BeLoVeD never saw the early right island expansion until WAY too late in the game.
• Bored demonstrated the art of taking the initiative and advantage away from an attack.  Twice BeLoVeD had a very formidable force gathering in preparation to annihilate his enemy.  Bored scanned constantly (I don't think his ComStat was ever over 100 energy at any time) and took the initiative away by attacking first.  This was successful both times.
• The turbo newbie at 3:00 cliffs remained the entire game.
• Bored never attacked his enemy's main.  He took out all of his expansions.

-Dr.Zchivago